


Monstrous

by CaedmonOfTheHighland



Series: Caedmon's 3am Short Fics [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst? Idek how to write angst but if I did this would be it, Death, Demon, Gen, Harry Potter Never Went to Hogwarts, Nuckelavee, Scotland, Triwizard Tournament, holiday gone wrong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:53:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24817156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CaedmonOfTheHighland/pseuds/CaedmonOfTheHighland
Summary: Harry was five when he all but died. Five when he met the demon horse of death. Five when he transitioned from freak to monster
Series: Caedmon's 3am Short Fics [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1828057
Kudos: 48





	1. The Holiday

_**February, 1986:** _

Aeroplanes are huge.

That was the first thing a five-year-old Harry Potter thought when he first saw the planes at the airport on his very first holiday. For a person to never have travelled before at his age was a very normal thing. Many families lacked the money to take the family on holiday, some were terribly claustrophobic or scared of aeroplanes. Harry's lack of travel experience, however, had nothing to do with low budgets or claustrophobia. His 'family' was actually very rich. They had gone on holiday several times a year for as long as he could remember. Harry never joined them because he was not family. 

While blood declared them family, their actions denied the claim. He was their unpaid butler, their servant, their slave. And since when did slaves go on holiday?

His Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon and cousin Dudley wanted to celebrate Vernon's recent promotion. Harry's usual baby sitter was in the hospital after falling from a ladder trying to fish her cat from a tall Oak tree in her backyard. Poor Mrs Figg would be there for a while yet since she was a frail, elderly woman. Harry felt a little guilty for being happy about the accident. Mrs Figg had never been anything but kind to him but her injury was his opportunity. 

The lack of a babysitter forced the Dursleys to bring Harry with them and so, there he was. Trailing behind the three of them, tugging his cousin's two suitcases and a tote with him as Dudley strutted in front of the group, burdened by only an ice cream cone. Harry did not particularly mind carrying Dudley's luggage. He would be on his best behaviour the whole way so that the Dursleys did not have any second thoughts and throw him out of the plane. 

"Hurry up, Boy," His uncle bellowed from in front of him, standing on a moving belt so that he didn't have to walk the length of the airport.

"Yes sir," He said respectfully, tugging harder on the heavy suitcases to keep up with the belt 

They neared a seating area numbered 31 B and the three Dursleys stepped off the conveyor belt they had been riding to sit down there. Once Harry caught up and put down the luggage, he determined that terminal 31 B was identical to all the other terminals they had passed. Rows of plush seats occupied the space, some supporting other travellers. 

Harry hopped up onto a seat and his eyes widened. It was the most comfortable chair he had ever sat on. He got himself comfortable and sat there, revelling in the feel of the soft cushioning underneath him.

He stayed that way for the entire hour before they boarded the plane, watching the other travellers and letting his legs swing off the side of the chair (As a particularly short five-year-old boy, Harry's legs didn't quite reach the ground). When the man behind the desk that sat beside a closed doorway started saying things into the speaker, he jumped off the seat, pulling the bags towards his relatives. They lined up together and as they reached the front of the line, Harry enthusiastically brandished his plane ticket at the attendant. 

He chuckled as he looked it over before wishing them a good flight and gently pushing Harry towards the doorway. Harry checked his ticket to find his seat. It was in the very back of the plane, near the washrooms. After shoving the luggage he was lugging around into the overhead compartment, he sat next to a chubby man. The man didn't even look up from his magazine so Harry occupied himself with tracing the patterns on the seat in front of him. Soon enough, a very tall lady sat beside him, caging him in. 

The take-off was the scariest part of the journey. Harry held on for dear life as they ascended and stayed that way until they evened out in the sky. His surprisingly strong hands left imprints on the seats. He fell asleep once they were in the air as he quickly found that there wasn't much to do when flying in an aeroplane. He was occasionally disturbed by the man beside him flipping the pages of his magazine or the flushes of people in the washroom but they never fully woke him. He slept soundly until a flight attendant woke him a few hours later to tell him that they had landed.

He blinked sleepily and looked out the window. The Scottish tarmac didn't look all that different from the one in Surrey. Cement looked the same everywhere after all. 

He climbed out of his seat and started pulling the bags out. The first suitcase slid easily out, along with the tote. The bigger one, however, Harry had to tug at to pull out. He pulled hard and the suitcase slipped out, landing on top of him. a sickening crack could be hard as Harry fell into the aisle, weighed down by the fallen luggage. 

Harry groaned and pushed himself up. His foot throbbed as he tried to push himself up. Leaning on the bigger suitcase, he stood. He limped out of the plane to where the Dursleys were waiting, using the suitcase as a brace. 

The Dursleys scowled at him when he finally emerged from the tunnel connecting the plane to the airport. Without a word, they walked on and Harry limped after them as quickly as he could. 

Harry made his way through the airport surprisingly quickly, even managing to climb into the Dursleys' taxi before they drove off without him. He settled onto the taxi's leather seat, once again in the middle of a chubby boy and a tall woman (although this time he was familiar with them)

Through the window, he watched as buildings raced by. Everything was so familiar and yet so alien it practically gave him vertigo. 

They slowed before pulling up to a grand looking hotel. The marble building rose into the clouds, reminding Harry vaguely of a bank. climbing out of the Taxi and following his relatives through the front door, he realised that the building was just as nice on the inside as the outside. The marble tiles were an off white colour and every single one was polished and spotless. the occasional trill of a telephone and the clicking of Aunt Petunia' shoes were the only things that could be heard in the intimidating entrance hall

They walked towards the counter where a handsome, middle-aged man stood with a phone to his ear. He smiled at them as they approached and quickly finished his call. 

"Vernon and Petunia Dursley," She told him before he could even speak, handing him her identification.

He nodded, sliding them a keycard.

"Yer in room number 718," He told them, holding the phone away from his ear. "Jenny'll take ye up"

He beckoned over a short blonde lady in a green uniform and instructed her to take them to her room. 

Jenny led the way to room 718 silently, the Dursleys and Harry trailing behind her. They rode the elevator up to the seventh floor and wandered the halls a little before finding themselves in front of their room. Petunia thanked Jenny, who smiled thinly in return and stood by as they made their way into the room. 

Once Jenny left, The Dursleys settled in. Their flight had not been long but they had left late in the evening. And considering the attachment their only son had to food, his complaints and demands for it were inevitable.

"Mummy!" He whined, "I'm hungry,"

Petunia rushed to her son's side as though he had claimed he had broken a leg or had been poisoned instead of just being hungry. 

"Of course Diddy Darling," She cooed, "We'll order some room service," How do Burgers sound,"

Dudley's face scrunched up angrily, "I DON't WANT BURGERS," 

"Of course, of course," His mum soothed, "Maybe Pizza?"

"Yes! Pizza!" 

"That settles it then," She told him before turning to her husband. "Vernon, order us a pizza, dear,"

Vernon chuckled, wandering towards his son and wife, 

"Just one pizza?" he asked jokingly, "My Dud deserves at least two pizza's,"

Dudley's eyes widened in his excitement. 

"Could I have some pizza too uncle Vernon?" A small voice asked from beside the couch.

Vernon sneered at even the thought of buying his nephew a pizza. 

"Why would you need a pizza boy?" He barked. "You're lucky enough you were allowed to come on this trip with us, I'll not be wasting my money on buying you pizza," 

"Freaks don't get pizza, freak" Dudley taunted from the plush armchair he was sitting in.

Harry's gaze lowered in shame. They were right of course, he knew they were right. Freaks like him did not deserve things like pizza or holidays. They deserved to work hard to pay back their family's generosity, not take more from them. 

"Go unpack, boy," Vernon snarled, "And you'll be going without dinner tonight,"

A swift nod and a small 'Yes, sir," And Harry was in the bedroom of their hotel room. It was more of a hotel flat than a room but he did not know enough to tell the difference. 

It was well into the night when Harry finished unpacking and neatly folding everyone's clothes. His stomach growled as he placed the last of Aunt Petunia's ridiculously frilly blouses on the top of the pile. He ignored his hunger with practised ease, venturing instead back to the main room, their equivalent of a living room, where the three Dursleys were enjoying themselves. Empty pizza boxes and bottles of root beer and regular beer lined the counter, their smells mixing and torturing Harry's empty stomach.

"Take out the trash boy," Vernon barked at him the moment he walked through the doorway.

"Sir?" Harry asked meekly. "Is it not the janitor's job to clean the hotel room," 

He realised that it was the wrong thing to say as Vernon rounded on him angrily. 

"Who are you to question me boy? You would live your life with servants cleaning up after you. I will not have a lazy pig like you riding my coattails. Now take out the trash," 

"Yes, sir," Harry balanced the boxes and bottles precariously in his arms before rushing out the door. The halls of the hotel were well lit, allowing him to limp quickly through the halls quickly without running into something. After numerous twists and turns, Harry found a trashcan where he could put the greasy boxes and the bottles.

Walking back the way he came, Harry made his way back to the hotel room. The twist and turns he had taken were scrambled in his mind, the distracting ache of hunger that had settled into his stomach not at all helping his case. 

After stopping at several different turns and reflecting on his previous path as much as possible, Harry soon found himself very lost. He wandered the maze of identical doors, sorely tempted to pound his fists on one of the doors and ask it's inhabitants for help. He didn't though because he was well trained. Freaks did not disturb their betters, the Dursley's had taught him and interrupting someone's sleep surely counted as disturbing them. 

After quite a bit of aimless wandering, Harry came across an elevator. It's shiny, silver doors reflected the golden light from the lamps lining the halls. Reaching up as far as he could, Harry pressed the button closest to him and watched in fascination as an arrow on top of the metallic doors lit up. For a few seconds, Harry stood there, observing the arrow before the doors opened of their own accord.

There was no one inside the elevator when Harry stepped in. It was much too late for anyone to be doing anything but sleeping. So there was no one to stop him from pressing the button that would take him to the ground floor. 

Just like the elevator, the ground floor of the hotel was deserted, save a poor overworked attendant sleeping at the desk. This man slept so deeply that nothing Harry did would rouse him. Since he was without any help, Harry sat down in front of the desk, cross-legged and patient, waiting for the attendant to wake or for a customer to walk into the lobby. He sat for hours, and even when his joints were stiff and his arse ached, no one had walked into the hotel.

Turning his gaze onto the glass doors of the hotel, Harry sighed wistfully. The world outside of the hotel was a new one, entirely different from Privet Drive, a whole new world he would never get to see. As much as he wished and pleaded with the powers above, Harry knew that he would do nothing more than clean the hotel room, readying it for the Dursleys' return from their Scottish adventures. Freaks did not get adventures after all, why would this be an exception. 

He rose, joints popping, cracking and protesting all the way.

The Dursleys may never take him on an adventure but he could make his own. He was likely trapped here all night after all, so why should he spend his night in the oppressive silence of the hotel lobby when he could be living an adventure - a dream - outside. 

Walking out of the hotel lobby, Harry went on his first-ever adventure.

Despite the hour that could be either described as very late or obscenely early, the city was alive. Bright, multicoloured signs lit the streets, each one advertising some product or another. The sounds of drunken men and women enjoying themselves in the bar across from the hotel met his ears. And most importantly, the divine smell of food wafted to his nose from somewhere up the street. 

Harry strolled awkwardly down the street with his injured foot down the street, pointedly ignoring the icy February wind biting at his skin. He soon reached the end of the street. Beyond it laid a beach, abandoned due to the season and the hour. Removing his shoes and hanging them around his neck, he roamed the sand, marvelling at the feeling of it between his toes.

He watched a fog roll into the shores and listened to the water crash against some nearby rocks as he walked. It was peaceful, something he had not experienced much before. The fog around him thickened and soon, he couldn't see an inch in front of his face. 

Around him, the sound of shuffling drowned out the crashing water. The peaceful feeling fled in an instant, leaving an overwhelming fear behind. 

"Hello?" He asked into the fog. He received no answer besides the shuffling that was growing louder as whatever was causing it drew closer. Harry started backing up, not wanting ti get mauled by some wild animal. He kept his eyes on the fog in front of him though.

Harry and the unknown creature both moved back towards the city for a moment before harry tripped over a log, landing him on his back in the sand. The creature continued to approach and as it did, its silhouette appeared in the fog.

Harry had to choke back a gasp as a creature of nightmares emerged from the fog. At first glance, It appeared to be a man riding his horse but look longer than a second and the creature looked wrong. The body's legs and pelvis were fused to the horse and the entire creature was stripped of skin, leaving decaying bone, muscle, and sinew for all to see. It had two sets of eyes, both of which were glowing brightly and a pair of arms twice as long as they should be dragged on either side of it. 

Scrambling away, Harry stood, turned and ran as well as he could. His injury from earlier slowing him down as he tried to run to safety. Unfortunately for him, it seemed the creature had seen him and it galloped after him, matching his speed easily. An unnaturally long arm reached out and grabbed his ankle, causing him to fall on his face. Harry tried to crawl away and escape from the creature's grip but he was not strong enough to succeed. The creature turned around, taking Harry with it. 

As he was dragged across the beach, he screamed and cried, hoping someone would hear. he grabbed at every rock and every stick they passed, even raking his hands through the sand hoping for some kind of anchor. 

The moment Harry felt water touch his uninjured and free ankle, Harry knew he was done for. fat tears pooled under his eyes, the final result of his fear, his desperation and his pain. Drowning was a terrible and painful way to die from what he remembered. He had read a book on pirates once and it had detailed what happened to people after they walked the plank.

Searching even more frantically for something to hold onto he yelled himself hoarse, pleading that someone would find him and cursing his stupidity. 

The fog around them grew darker and it burned when he tried to breathe it in

"No," He panted as his torso was submerged, "It's too early, I don't want to die," 

He took a deep, painful breath before his head was dragged underwater. 

He didn't want to die. His life with the Dursleys may be hard but it was life. It was precious and it was his. He would not give it up for one midnight stroll in Scotland.

As he was dragged deeper, the water around them grew darker. His lungs burned from a lack of oxygen.

He would not be dying here, he would survive. 

His will gave out and he inhaled deeply, bringing water into his lungs.

He refused to die here, He would survive!

The water around Harry started pulsing aqua green, his previously undiscovered magic mingling with it. It pulsed a few times before the light rushed into Harry.

If he could scream underwater, he would certainly have done it. His bones snapped, skin peeled and muscles stretched as he pulsed with magic. For ten excruciating minutes, he pulsed with magic as it transformed him.

His eyes opened to see the water around him deserted. he looked around before looking at himself.

That was when he knew that he'd gone from freak to monster. 

* * *

The creature that attacked Harry is a terrifying Nordic Sea-Horse-Demon called the Nuckelavee. Here are some visual representations of it in case my description of it was lacking.

These works are by [Ulderico Fioretti](http://uldericofiorettiart.blogspot.com/), James Torrance, and Unknown (I found it on Pinterest and trying to find the original artist through there is hell, trust me, I've done it quite a few times.)


	2. The Tournament

Albus Dumbledore was plotting. Rather, readjusting his plots.

He paced as he thought and planned and debated with himself. Albus' plotting, planning and general anxiety had been caused by his most important pawn. The pawn that would make it to the other end of the board and be promoted to a queen, so that he may annihilate the opposing side.

Harry Potter was missing and Albus could curse those muggles that were supposed to be 'caring' for him. 'Caring' was a loose term form what they were doing but to become great one must first suffer hardships. They hadn't even thought to inform him of their blunder until Harry's Hogwarts letter had returned, unopened and Hagrid had confirmed that Harry was certainly not with the Dursleys.

Resisting the urge to tug at his hair, Albus sat at his desk. They would need to find Harry Potter, he had spent to much time grooming the boy to let it all go to waste and he had little time to waste. Tom would not wait for him to be prepared before rising again after all. 

The world would never know of Harry's disappearance, he decided. He would tell them that the boy had been secreted away for special training. Only his most trusted would be allowed to search for him.

Harry Potter would be found, no matter the cost.

Albus would indeed find Harry, four years later on the coast of Scotland. Unfortunately for him, he would not find out until it was too late. 

xxx

"I can't believe he's asked us to retrieve a Nuckelavee" Charlie Weasley lamented as he released the portkey that had transported him and the rest of the team to the city of Oban, nestled in the Scottish coast.

"The tournament is no joke," Brielle 'Brie ' Easthope frowned at the dragon handler. "Besides, he certainly picked the right people. There's no one more qualify or able to handle dangerous creatures than us,"

Brie was a muggle-born magizoologist, the youngest in forty-five years. Her specialisation in XXXX classed beasts required her to be adept in handling dangerous creatures. 

Charlie nodded in agreement, wandering over to help the rest of their team up and off the wet ground. 

"There've been spotting here continuously for nearly five years. If we're going to find one it'll be here," 

"Strange, I thought they were nomadic," 

"They are but no one can truly predict a demon. They're filthy, dark creatures,"

"Hey!" Rubeus Hagrid grunted from behind them, offended on behalf of the water demon. "I'm sure that they're like any other creature, they just need a little love," 

"You'd do best not to get attached Hagrid, it will surely be slaughtered during the first task,"

Hagrid's head dipped slightly in sadness, the only indication he'd heard her. 

"Come on team, let's get going," Brie called, taking her position as the leader and trudging down to the waterfront. She shivered a little before diving in and swimming out into the ocean. charlie quickly followed her while Hagrid stayed behind, holding a rope that would bring them back to shore. The two others accompanying them dived in as well, a shrunken cage in one of their pockets. 

They four swam out a little way before effectively diving down. To their surprise, they found the sea demon with ease. It was sleeping on the seabed.

The demon was unlike the images of Nuckelavee they had studied to prepare themselves for their venture. It was much smaller, maybe half the size of a regular nuckelavee. While the lower half of it, the equine half, had the customary red eyes of a nuckelavee, the humanoid part sported vibrant, killing curse eyes, glowing even through its pupils. Its charcoal hair floated in the water like algae. Although Brie would never admit it, she found it quite adorable.

Charlie Weasley, however, had no such qualms. "Aww, it's adorable," He cooed, floating closer to the demon.

"Leander, the cage," She commanded one of her companions, Leander Dippet.

He threw the cage at the seemingly baby nuckelavee, enlarging it in the water. It hit its mark, solidifying around the sleeping demon. Judging from the roar they heard from the inside of the steel cage, they had also woken it up. 

"Good," She praised. "Dippet, Blishwick, Weasley, let's get this thing back to Hogwarts. 

Charlie looked a little put out as he watched Dippet and Blishwick levitate the cage back to land. He and Brie swam behind them, watching out for other magical sea monsters. The Scottish coast was famous for housing some of the most terrifying creatures ever recorded. 

They made it out of the water and to a waiting Hagrid without any problems and with their half-giant companion's help, they easily carried it up to the crest of the hill where they were to meet more handlers that would help them transport the monster. 

As the team watched the other handlers take away their catch, they felt something akin to pride. Nuckelavee were notoriously hard to find and much harder to capture. And they had done both without any problems. 

Brie grinned at her teammates. "What do you guys say about a visit to the hog's head, drinks on me," 

"I'm not one to turn down a free drink," Euan Blishwick told her, matching her grin. Leander nodded enthusiastically, agreeing with his friend and coworker. 

Charlie Weasley had a troubled look on his face as he shook his head negative. "I think I've got to go ask around about baby Nuckelavee. This doesn't add up. They don't reproduce, they don't give birth,"

"Come on mate, ease up," Dippet complained.

Charlie only shook his head more firmly and apparated away.

All eyes turned to Hagrid as he smiled shyly.

"Only if yer wan me there," He said. 

"Great," Brie announced, "Meet you all there in twenty minutes," Everyone disapparated, presumably home to wash up. 

xxx

Harry shivered in his metal confines. He wrapped his long arms around himself, trying to preserve some kind of heat but it was a fruitless endeavour. It was rather lucky that he didn't need to breathe because there were no holes in the cage that would allow such a thing. 

Rubbing at his decaying skin, he made a strange little noise that could only be described as a sigh. 

He'd known that he would be captured sooner or later. Or slain. He would actually have placed his bets (if he had any money, that is) on slain. After all, what was more heroic than felling the big ugly monster. And everyone wanted to be a hero.

He wondered where he would be taken.

His curiosity was not appeased, even after they stopped moving. His cage was dropped unceremoniously with a loud thump and he was left in its confines. The loud voice that could be heard chatting outside of it faded as their owners moved away from him. 

he roared desperately, the only noise he could still make. His only answer was a foreign but equally loud roar. He was not the only caged monster but what could these people be doing with a pair of dangerous beasts?

He roared again for he did not know.

xxx

Something was wrong with that Nuckelavee, Charlie knew it. Demons did not breed and so, there were no baby Demons. But if they didn't breed, how did new ones come into existence. Charlie's gut told him that the answer would tell him much more than that. 

So he rushed over to the only person who might know.

"Mrs Potter," He greeted as an Elderly woman opened the door to greet him. 

"Oh please love, call me Rhea," She opened the door wider, "Come in, Come in. Make yourself at home," 

Chalie stepped inside and The frail old lady led him to the sofa. Her house was very nice if a bit small. Once Charlie was seated and with a cup of tea, she focused her attention on him.

"Now Charlie, to what do I owe your visit? Got a demon infestation? Perhaps a horde of Nogtails? Those beasts can be nasty little buggers." 

"No Rhea, my problem is quite the step up from Nogtails,"

Rhea Potter was the only child of Fleamont Potter and his wife, Euphemia Potter. Because her family had been staunchly pro-Light and pro-Gryffindor, their Dark, Slytherin daughter with a penchant for befriend dark creatures hadn't been all that accepted into the family. They finally gave up and disowned her when she got engaged to Caspian Davis, the spare of a very dark family. 

Wiped from every family tapestry and their wills, Rhea had been forgotten by the Potter family and after the unfortunate death of her fiancée by the hand of an Auror, Rhea was left without family and only her trust vault.

In her years in isolation, she had become quite the expert on the darkest of creatures: Demons.

"Something worse than a Nogtail? Dearie me, what have you been getting into,"

"I actually had a few questions about Nuckelavee," He told her hesitantly.

"Nuckelavee?" She exclaimed.

"Nasty buggers, those. Unlimited access to poison gas, impossible strength for a creature of decay, prefers to drown its victims. Nasty, nasty creatures. Even I don't dare mess around with a Nuckelavee," She told him gravely, "What would you want with one of those?" 

Charlie's brow puckered in concern for whoever would be facing off against the Demon.

"Erm, well my team and I were sent on a mission, special request from the Headmaster, to retrieve a Nuckelavee. It's to be used in this years Triwizard Tournament, you see."

Rhea pinched her nose, "Yes, I heard about that idiotic attempt to restart the death tournament,"

Charlie chuckled at that.

"Must be the worst kept secret in Britain," He told her, "Absolutely everyone knew about it before it was even announced to the students just last month," 

"Yes, yes," She waved her hand dismissively, "So you had questions about your Nuckelavee?" 

"Well, it seems we've caught a baby Nuckelavee," He told her, noticing the narrowing of her eyes as he told her this. 

"And how do you figure this one's a baby?"

"It's much smaller than any specimen we've ever seen, in photographs of course. Its skin is less rotted than it should be and.. Oh! The mouth wasn't sewn shut as it should be, it just hung open,"

"The human mouth or the horse one?"

"Human. The horse part didn't even have one,"

"Hmm," She said, getting shakily out of her seat and hobbling over to the bookshelf behind it. She pulled out a dark blue tome, about as thick as Charlie's wrist.

"This here," She waved the book a bit, "Is all about the breeding habits of Marine demons. You'll be sure to find something on the Nuckelavee in this book.

Charlie nodded, a little disappointed, "Nothing off the top of your head?" he asked, making sure she couldn't help. At the shake of her head, he reached out and took the book she was offering him.

"I'll look into it, this specimen seems fascinating,"

Charlie nodded again, standing. "Thank you for your time, Rhea," He told her, drifting towards the front door. She trailed after him, changing the subject of the conversation entirely. She talked on about the new species of demon that had been found in the living in the Catacombs as Charlie put on his coat.

He didn't mind at all.

xxx

 _'The roar of a nuckelavee is a pathetic sound'_ Thought Brie as she stood in front of the cage containing the captured demon.

They did not possess a voice box or vocal cords so the fact that they could even roar was incredible but it sounded like the whines of a dying kitten. Not a sound very likely to cause fear.

Her lip curled. While her Mastery and specialization had borne from a love and fascination for magical creatures and demons, she held a special, personal contempt for the creatures of the Scottish coast.

She was positive that these creatures had taken away Harry Potter. Now as a British witch, it was natural for her to resent the loss of their hero and its cause but her hatred ran even deeper than that.

She thought back to her life before Hogwarts.

Brielle Easthope had grown up with her mum, her dad and her little brother in Surrey, on the quiet, normal street of Privet drive.

Her little brother, a puny, pitiful and pathetic child called Evander 'Evan' Easthope had joined up with the neighbourhood bully, an equally pathetic and pitiful child named Dudley Dursley.

She watched from afar as they and the rest of their tiny child gang pick on their favourite victim, Dudley's cousin, the tiny Harry Potter.

Like Evander and Dudley, Harry four years old. The boy was too young to be in school but could often be found in the library since the kindly librarian had taken a liking to him. As well as being reserved and quiet, the boy was also, as she had had the displeasure of seeing, very fast.

So when she had found him hiding behind a stack of books in the school library, she hadn't been able to stop herself from approaching.

Understandably afraid of his bully's older sister, Harry had cowered away from her at first but some gentle coaxing on Brie's part lured him out of his corner of the library.

They had become fast friends despite their age difference. Brie had taught Harry the things they were learning at school and Harry would wander with her and point out and name all the plants in the neighbours' yards.

Their friendship had come to an abrupt end only a year later when Harry disappeared during the Dursleys' trip to Scotland.

She had screamed and raged for days after that. And while Harry may have faded from her mind, she never truly forgot.

She had been very rudely reminded of her missing friend when she started Hogwarts at eleven and heard whisperings of the famous Harry Potter

Her feelings of sadness and loss were doubled by the fact that he had already been through so much before the Dursleys.

So when she had discovered her passion for Magizoology and found out that it was common for disappearances to be attributed to demons and powerful beasts, her resentment for the creatures of the Scottish coast.

Another underwhelming roar brought her out of her thoughts. She glanced once more at the cage and grinned, knowing that there was definitely some pain in the near future.

 _'For Harry.'_ She thought as she walked away, _'Finally, revenge for poor little Harry'_

xxx

When the cage opened, Harry saw a group of people with bubbles on their heads and gasmasks on underneath the bubbles. It was a strange sight. 

He was not giving a chance to contemplate it before a familiar voice that he couldn't place shouted _'Begin'_ and they all rushed at him as though their lives depended on it. 

They caught him with little difficulty and tied him down painfully tight. He watched them apprehensively as they left the cage and only started to panic when he saw the giant knives they brought back. 

He struggled against his bindings to no avail and roared as much as they could as they approached. 

One of the Knife-wielding, bubble-headed women plunged her knife into his ribcage and he roared indignantly. While it hurt like a rat's arse, he was more offended that she had just plunged a giant knife into his chest and was twisting it with a sadistic smile on her face. The rest joined in and started carving a hole in his chest but his attention was focused on the first woman. She was eerily familiar, a figure from his life past.

"This," she whispered, barely audible, "Is for Harry," 

His eyes widened and he roared even more indignantly. He was Harry! Carving a hole into his chest was the worst possible revenge anyone could get on his behalf. He stared into her pensive golden eyes, watching what could only be described as knife torture and was definitely animal abuse and gave a start. 

He knew those eyes. He remembered those eyes. 

"Ella?" He whispered croakily. Her eyes widened before narrowing and pushing harder either knife. 

"How dare you. No one is ever allowed to call me that. No one except for Him"

If Harry could roll his eyes, he most certainly would his friend... well perhaps ex-friend since she was gleefully carving his chest was being a complete idiot. 

He glared at her and she carved faster and harder. They dug their knives into him until they were satisfied with their whole. 

Brielle took a large, glowing golden orb and shoved it into his chest cavity before waving a stick at him. A thin layer of skin grew over the orb and it was effectively stuck inside him. They released him and his head fell unceremoniously to the ground. They turned and marched out of the cage and it shut , leaving Harry to stew in pain and in darkness.

xxx

The blue book was completely useless. Charlie found absolutely nothing he didn't know. Nuckelavee did not breed, they were created, therefore a baby Nuckelavee should not be possible. He suspected that Rhea had known that the book would be of no help as well but she had no motivation to lie about this.

Charlie groaned, shutting the book and leaning his head on the familiar desk beside it. He had moved in with his family for the time being as he had no property in England. Besides his mother fawning over him, it had been relatively peaceful with all his siblings at school. 

The golden title of the book, "The Scottish Demons and Their Sexy Times" glittered at him mockingly. Resisting his urge to throw the bloody tome into the fire, Charlie wandered down the stairs and into the kitchen. A flickering candle lit the counter as he prepared a cup of tea and listed all the things he knew about Nuckelavee in his mind, which after spending hours reading a book with moving illustrations of demon's mating, was an uncomfortable amount. 

He knew that they did not mate because the decaying horse zombie hybrids did not possess sex organs. He knew that they always possessed red eyes, one of their many defining features. He knew that they were created by men and women who were somehow able to survive inhaling the Nuckelavee's poison gas. 

His hands dragged through his hair. What was he missing? Why was he so sure there was something wrong?

It was the eyes, he decided after a moment of contemplation. They were so full of life, vulnerable and childish even through the thin decaying eyelids. They were the eyes of a child and not a monster. 

He sighed, taking a sip of his tea. The first task was tomorrow, either way, he doubted he would be able to figure out what was wrong in time. And it was common knowledge among the handlers that the beasts were not expected to survive the task. 

Charlie pinched his nose and breathed out slowly before rising and making his way back to his room with the intention of sleeping on it. His tea lay, abandoned on the kitchen table to cool overnight.

Laying in his bed, Charlie fell asleep near-instantly but peaceful sleep did not come to him. Instead, he dreamt of a child. A child with glowing green eyes and wild black hair.

"Charles, Weasley," The kid told him, his voice sounding amazingly condescending and hate-filled for a five-year-old "I'm rather insulted. Do you not remember me? After all I've done for you, for your family, for Britain. How dare you," 

Accusing green eyes captured his as Charlie began to quake. 

"How dare you believe pathetic, half baked lies," The child told him, green mist rising around him. 

"Who are you?" Charlie asked, reaching out to touch the mist before recoiling when it burned his hand like acid.

The child laughed. 

"Who am I, Charles? You very well know who I am" A tiny hand lifted the fringe of his black mane to reveal a jagged scar. "I am your forgotten saviour, discarded once I was no longer needed. The boy who lived, defeater of Voldemort," 

Charlie shook his head.

"No, You're safe, you are training somewhere deep in the forest of Albania with the most talented Warlocks of this century and the last," 

He heard laughter again but could not see the child as the green mist thickened, creeping closer to him. 

"You believed that tripe? I thought better of you Charles" glowing green eyes stared at him through the mist. "Ah, but you didn't. You never did believe Dumbledore's tale. Smart boy."

Charlie ground his teeth but would not deny what Dream Potter had said. 

"I lived too long Charles." Harry told him with a note of sadness in his voice, "You know what they say, You either die a hero or live long enough to become a MONSTER" 

Charlie backed away as he heard light footsteps approaching him. Harry was faster however and emerged from the smoke, coming close enough to Charlie that he could reach out and touch him.

"I suppose that's what I am, Charles," he said, growing in front of Charlie's eyes. He went from five years old to fourteen years old in the span of seconds. At fourteen, Harry was tall enough to grasp Charlie's chin and that was exactly what he did. Tugging down Charlie's face, Harry leaned in until his mouth was right beside Charlie's ear. His nose stung with the smell of decay. 

"A monster," Harry whispered before tugging Charlie's mouth open. The acidic green smoke rushed at them and into Charlie's mouth. 

And it burned.

It _burned burned burned._

And Charlie screamed. 

xxx

Charlie bolted upright, shivering and sweaty, to find his mum and dad standing over him.

"Good afternoon, dear," His mom told him, pressing a moist cloth to his forehead. 

"Afternoon?" he asked 

"Er... yes, it's two in the afternoon." His father told him, scratching his bald spot. "You had a fever and we figured you could afford to stay home from work today..." he trailed off when he saw the panicked look on Charlie's face.

"I had to be at Hogwarts for noon. The task starts at 1:30!" He nearly yelled and his mother frowned disapprovingly. 

"They're working you too hard," she said crossing her arms. "If you can't even take one day off-"

"ONE DAY OFF?" Charlie squeaked. "I'll take one day off tomorrow. Today is the first task of the MOST DEADLY TOURNAMENT EVER and a bunch of STUDENTS are going to be taking on EXTREMELY DANGEROUS BEASTS. I need to be there," 

His mother only turned and stalked out of the room at his disrespect and her husband scurried after her.

Charlie ran around his room in a mad rush to get dressed and get to Hogwarts. 

It was as they were marching in the last beast, Cedric Diggory's Nuckelavee, that Charlie finally made it to the stadium.

He cringed when he saw the look on Brie's face and braced himself for a screaming fit but she simply shook her head and barked "Get over here Weasley"

He hurried over to help, gazing at the cage sadly. 

They installed it inside the stadium before disillusioning themselves and positioning themselves around the inner perimeter. Once Cedric Diggory's name was called and he was escorted into the stadium, the let out the Nuckelavee.

Diggory shrunk back a little upon realising what he was up against but did not back down. A determined look settled on his face as he brandished his wand at the Nuckelavee, daring it to come closer.

Unfortunately for Diggory, it did exactly that.

xxx

Harry snarled when he saw the stadium. They were treating him like a bull. A dumb bull, expected to chase the red flag. He was an animal to them and judging by the orb in his chest, an animal meant to be slaughtered. He roared, in anger instead of his earlier indignation. He had rights, he was human.

His thoughts tapered off suddenly. Was he really human? What made a human? Must you be human in mind or human in body? Perhaps... perhaps he was not human.

The cheering spectators certainly didn't think him human. Neither did the shimmering men that stood around the edge of the stadium. The boy across from him, waving a stick around didn't see him as human either. 

If he was not seen as human by those around him, what was the point in actually being human?

A monster, That was what they saw. So he would be their monster. He would roar like a monster, he would fight like a monster and he would kill like a monster. Fixing his opponent with a glare, he summoned the green mist that had made him this way in the first place. It swirled around him, cloaking him and shielding him from the bright lights coming from the stick he advanced, willing his smoke to solidify and act as stairs. He climbed to the level of the first row of spectators, let out a loud roar and focused all his mist onto the boy. He choked on it, screaming and trembling. After a few moments, he fell to his knees and the hidden men and women stepped away from the edge of the stadium and pointed their wands at him. He glanced at one and his eyes widened, hand clapping over his mouth. 

"Stop!" he yelled as the others shot sickly yellow beams of light at Harry. "STOP YOU'RE KILLING YOUR SAVIOUR!"

His cries were ignored and Harry was hit on all sides by the yellow light he collapsed but not before the boy who had been spasming on the floor went still. 

He closed his eyes and the yells around him faded away. He knew the humans would kill him either now or later. His eyes cracked open in time to see a neon green light slicing the air and flying towards him. And as he readied himself for death he knew that he was born a freak, lived a human and would die a monster.

He was monstrous. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I'm glad that I've finally finished this. It was floating around my head for a while but it took me a little bit before I figure out how to write the second chapter. I'd like to thank each and every one of you for reading and I hope you've enjoyed Monstrous as much as I did!

**Author's Note:**

> The Nuckelavee has always been a particular fascination of mine. I hold the belief that the monsters and demons of lore are, for the most part, warped or exaggerated descriptions of animals we know. After all, it's only human to exaggerate tales of our experiences. But what could possibly have led to the Nuckelavee? A human-horse hybrid with obscenely long arms and made of rotten flesh? Unless some poor man drank himself silly and saw someone else on horseback, there really isn't any creature that resembles the Nuckelavee.


End file.
